Apple's 80% Charging Limit for iPhone: How Much Did It Help After a Year?

[polyphenol]

Just to add to the evidence pile:

My 15 Pro Max - First Use November 2023. Maximum capacity 98%. Cycle Count 131.

I've limited charging to 85% for some months and had both 100% and 80% for some time before that.
I almost always use MagSafe as I put in on a stand for bedside use.

Obviously, I am a modest user but I do sometimes use it quite intensively - e.g. maps for navigating on a fairly long run and use at stopping points - without any charging.

 

[0423MAC]

I think it’s a waste of time especially if you have AppleCare+

These new phones are so good with battery management that in the long run the extra 20% would likely end up benefiting you much more than the possible slowdown on the rate of battery degradation

Just got a notification about recent responses to this thread and I still think this is the case.

Imagine buying a shiny new iPhone 16 Pro Max and gimp it by limiting the charging to 80% because you have some anxiety of battery degradation. I think the more prudent thing to do if you care so much about your battery is to grab yourself a quality external battery that you keep in your car/bag and charge when needed.

I personally let my iPhone go down to single digits without a care in the world with this strategy and live in an area that is susceptible to power outages every time a strong storm rolls through.

I would say on average I need to charge my phone every ~30 hours or so.

 

[FeliApple]

Just got a notification about recent responses to this thread and I still think this is the case.

Imagine buying a shiny new iPhone 16 Pro Max and gimp it by limiting the charging to 80% because you have some anxiety of battery degradation. I think the more prudent thing to do if you care so much about your battery is to grab yourself a quality external battery that you keep in your car/bag and charge when needed.

I personally let my iPhone go down to single digits without a care in the world with this strategy and live in an area that is susceptible to power outages every time a strong storm rolls through.

I would say on average I need to charge my phone every ~30 hours or so.

I agree with this. Battery life is too good so as to immediately remove a chunk of battery life for an approach whose results aren’t even guaranteed.

Battery health only impacts battery life if you update. And if you do, you still have some years before the impact is too much, especially with current iPhones like the Plus or Pro Max of recent years.

 

[Eric_WVGG]

nm

 

[0423MAC]

I agree with this. Battery life is too good so as to immediately remove a chunk of battery life for an approach whose results aren’t even guaranteed.

Battery health only impacts battery life if you update. And if you do, you still have some years before the impact is too much, especially with current iPhones like the Plus or Pro Max of recent years.

It's just strange to see people obsess over battery degradation so much. In addition to an 80% charge cap many would likely want to charge as soon as the battery goes down to 20% as well. Congrats, we've pressured all these companies to improve battery life only to put a self constraint to use our devices within a specific 60% battery capacity window 😒

 

[JamesMay82]

I’m a 15 pro with 396 cycles and 91%.

And it says I’ve had it since April 2024 so more or less 12 months.

I’m on my phone loads for phone calls or making notes while out on work sites and I very often run it till 1% or dead but I often don’t get the chance to charge to 100% sometimes I’m only getting 1-30% charges and sometimes I do that twice a day.

I wonder if short charging intervals like that are better.. as 91% battery health seems higher given my charge cycles ?

 

[UltimaKilo]

My launch day 16 PM is still at 100% health with 108 cycles so far, I always charge to 100% capacity even overnight, and it's only ever been charged wirelessly using the newer faster charging MagSafe.

Optimised battery charging is turned off as always as I hate this feature, if I charge my phone I want a full charge every time.

Except a year or two from now, when I need to travel (as I do quite a bit), and I can still charge to 96%, it will be worth it. Of course, this might not be something you care about or relevant to you.

My 16 PM lasts longer at 80% than my 13PM at 100%. Should the 17 PM offer additional battery life or efficiency gains, I will move to that and hand down my current device and likely hold on to the 17PM for 2-3 years.

 

[delsoul]

16 pro max…100% charging. I paid for the whole battery, I’m using the whole battery!

 

[thebeachbum]

Seems like a Forest Gump moment to me. “Stupid is as stupid does."

 

[LakeLucerne]

Update on my phone (iPhone 15 Pro, one of the first devices, production date battery July 2023).

Maximum capacity 95%
Cycle Count 377

I keep my iPhone's battery between 40% and 80%, as I have chargers at my desk at home, at work and in my car.

 

[Stonefly]

iPhone 15 Pro Max, battery production date July 2023 and first use September 2023.

Maximum capacity 99% and cycle count is 235

I always charge to 100% everyday on a 20 watt charger with cable.

 

[azhava]

Release day 16 Pro - Maximum capacity 100%, 107 charge cycles.

No charge limit set (ever), Optimized Charging activated, and I charge it to 100% overnight every night on a MagSafe charger on my nightstand. Basically the only time it ever sees a charging cable is in my car while I'm using Maps for navigation, and I leave it plugged in and charged to 100%.

 

[AdamInKent]

16 pro max…100% charging. I paid for the whole battery, I’m using the whole battery!

And you (or the next person to own your phone) will be paying for another whole battery much sooner than you would if you looked after it.

The science is solid on this. The batteries in our phones are most stressed when at 100% and 0% charge. So taking care to avoid these charge states prolongs its life.

If your use case makes protection of the battery difficult / a chore, then don’t do it. But for those who don’t need to use the full 100% to get through the day, battery life is preserved by not charging to 100%. It’s why the feature is there.

 

[Atog]

You take out 20% of your battery right from the start so how is that useful? Maybe if you keep your phone 10 years.

 

[addamas]

You take out 80% of your battery right from the start so how is that useful? Maybe if you keep your phone 10 years.

Math is hard

 

[Atog]

Math is hard

Sorry I’m doing several things at once.

 

[chucker23n1]

You take out 20% of your battery right from the start so how is that useful? Maybe if you keep your phone 10 years.

It’s useful even if you keep it for ~3 years. Capacity tends to drop off after about 2 years.

 

[Atog]

It’s useful even if you keep it for ~3 years. Capacity tends to drop off after about 2 years.

But it is already 20% down. Or you then switch it back to 100% charge w/o limit?

 

[ikjadoon]

But it is already 20% down. Or you then switch it back to 100% charge w/o limit?

That's how I do it because the 80% lasts way more than a day for me today. In some years (primarily due to iOS updates), 80% capacity may become not enough for a day → I get a 'free' 20% boost by bumping it to 100% capacity / no limit.

Delayed gratification and all that.

To me, after 3-4 annual iOS updates, battery drain is often noticeably worse than the "launch" iOS version. Apple keeps adding more to iOS, never less, so it seems logical.

//

It's kind of like a retirement fund.

I put aside "20%" every day (which is super easy on the launch iOS version & these Plus / Pro Max phones). Then, in a few years, voila, I get 20% more capacity when I actually need it.